Two former Parramatta Eels players are accused of harbouring semi-automatic weapons and possessing more than half-a-million dollars in cash after dramatic arrests in Sydney's Centennial Park yesterday.

Govt workers in decline even before budget

More than most, commonwealth public servants are anxiously awaiting the May budget.

For some it might mean the end of their jobs.

New figures suggest that many already may have cleared their desks faced with the prospect of a coalition government that was swept to power in September on a ticket of cutting spending and slashing public service numbers.

The Australian Public Service Commission says there were 163,716 employed in the public service as of December 2013.

That's 1594 fewer than a year earlier, or a one per cent decline.

However, between June and and December the pace of decline was even greater.

As of June 2013 the number of people employed was 167,071, 3355 or two per cent more than were on the books six months later.

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During that time the number of people in permanent public service employment fell by 1.4 per cent to 150,119, while those on a contract or engaged in temporary employment dropped by 8.6 per cent to 13,597.